Post by Gildzilla on Jun 6, 2013 13:35:50 GMT -5

Pitchfork has a "cover story" up on Passion Pit's Michale Angelakos and his struggles with bipolar disorder. Two weeks ago everyone was abuzz about Frank Ocean coming out, but this article is much more jarring to me. It's really gripping to see this type of candor about mental illness.

What you got back home, little sister, to play your fuzzy warbles on? I bet you got little save pitiful, portable picnic players. Come with uncle and hear all proper! Hear angel trumpets and devil trombones. You are invited.

Post by Delicious Meatball Sub on Sept 26, 2013 16:01:11 GMT -5

I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t want to have to sell hoodies with my face on them.

What I missed most about having a label wasn’t the monetary investment, but the right to be quiet, the insulation provided from incessant self-promotion. I was a singer, not a saleswoman. Not everyone wants to be an entrepreneur.

...

My indie wasn’t run by Benz-driving executives but rather passionate music lovers who invested in art that moved them. This tier of the industry was pretty much knocked out by music piracy. Kickstarter, many seem to think, is its logical replacement. Now musicians can raise money to make an album from their fans (if the old model already made them famous) or from their friends and family (if not). What’s less discussed is how this mechanism naturally winnows out the artists who lack the ability, confidence or desire to publicly solicit donations.

Thanks for this. When Kelly came up in conversation in one of the threads I started to look up this story/accusation because I wasn't totally clear on the details and results of the matter. Going to check this out in a little bit.

Post by Delicious Meatball Sub on Dec 16, 2013 16:41:51 GMT -5

This all happened long before I had any interest in R Kelly. I always thought it was one of those things that existed in the grey area where ability to consent and age of consent overlap. Plus it seemed like a one off thing, the victim and her parents didn't testify, and he was acquitted. But, assuming all the facts in here check out (and shame on Village Voice for not going to final yard and doing that), he's basically a serial pedophile.

Post by coconut on Dec 16, 2013 16:59:42 GMT -5

I honestly thought this was all common knowledge. I was aware of the multiple accusations of underage sex and his relationship with Aaliyah. I figured everyone never gave him the Gary Glitter treatment because they thought he was cool or something.

Post by wannaberoo'ing on Dec 16, 2013 17:18:24 GMT -5

I'm going to read that more thoroughly at some point but I think I've read enough to change my tune as well. I had never put much thought into R Kelly and the sexual deviances although his relationship with Aaliyah always pissed me off (she being a minor and his control over her).

Post by Delicious Meatball Sub on Dec 16, 2013 17:30:22 GMT -5

I honestly thought this was all common knowledge. I was aware of the multiple accusations of underage sex and his relationship with Aaliyah. I figured everyone never gave him the Gary Glitter treatment because they thought he was cool or something.

The problem too is that a lot of the criticism I've seen of R Kelly tends to come from the type of people who always have some way to criticize black entertainers, so I didn't put a whole lot of stock in it.

Post by Whoreshack on Dec 16, 2013 17:55:26 GMT -5

It's good that you've finally seen the man for what he is. Being from Chi, we've long known his whole sordid history. Its sad how many people choose to turn a blind eye just because he's a big star.

I'm not sure how much of this is really "turning a blind eye." I think most people just don't know (certainly none of my friends did, including the ones from Chicago).

I've always seen it being similar to the OJ case. The evidence was blatantly obvious, though maybe not as widely covered. And sadly there's just a wide array of skeptics and fans who choose to bury their heads in the sand and sing Trapped in the Closet.

Post by jove on Dec 17, 2013 0:17:27 GMT -5

It's disheartening that we had this guy at roo (and the superjam) this year. Before reading this i was under the impression that it was a couple of girls who were just about 18, but after reading that article, i feel disgusted to have been so close to that pedophile at the superjam.

Post by pondo ROCKS on Apr 20, 2014 7:21:28 GMT -5

Providing an outlet and a voice for music lovers to unite under the common theme of music for all. Join The Pondo Army to show your allegiance to musical freedom! Fighting for no censorship of the arts & music education in schools, The Pondo Army will triumph! The Pondo Army Movement
Follow me on twitter@Pondoknowsbest

He discusses a lot of the strategies used by veteran artists to boost sales, and there's a lot of interesting links embedded. However, i think he understates the main answer to his query, which is that being famous perpetuates itself. Tom Petty is always gonna sell lots of copies because he's a name brand, and not many new ones pop up over the years. It's like being in the "headline a major music fest" club, once you make it there, you pretty much stay there.

He discusses a lot of the strategies used by veteran artists to boost sales, and there's a lot of interesting links embedded. However, i think he understates the main answer to his query, which is that being famous perpetuates itself. Tom Petty is always gonna sell lots of copies because he's a name brand, and not many new ones pop up over the years. It's like being in the "headline a major music fest" club, once you make it there, you pretty much stay there.

Interesting read. This is a question I was wondering when I saw the Billboard article about Tom and Al last week. I had chalked a lot of it up to older people still buy music, younger people stream it or get copies of it online for free somehow. But that theory didn't really hold water the more I thought about it.

He discusses a lot of the strategies used by veteran artists to boost sales, and there's a lot of interesting links embedded. However, i think he understates the main answer to his query, which is that being famous perpetuates itself. Tom Petty is always gonna sell lots of copies because he's a name brand, and not many new ones pop up over the years. It's like being in the "headline a major music fest" club, once you make it there, you pretty much stay there.

Interesting read. This is a question I was wondering when I saw the Billboard article about Tom and Al last week. I had chalked a lot of it up to older people still buy music, younger people stream it or get copies of it online for free somehow. But that theory didn't really hold water the more I thought about it.